Rich Little Liars
Seeking a clean slate after a tragic house fire leaves her a widow, Kelly Reynolds escapes to the insulated wealth of the East Hamptons. But the tranquil illusion shatters when anonymous notes arrive, proving someone knows the dark truth about that fatal night. As paranoia sets in and the polite smiles of her neighbors begin to feel like traps, Kelly's new life spirals out of control. She survived the fire, but she might not survive the truth.
- Kelly - Protagonist
- Daniel - Kelly’s husband, deceased
- Roxanne - Kelly’s friend
- Richard - Kelly’s new neighbor
- Joseph Harvey - Police officer, Daniel's half-brother
- Now: Kelly moves into a new house.
- Then: Roxanne comes to Kelly's house to use the phone, and they quickly become friends.
- Now: Someone puts a note on Kelly’s doormat: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
- Richard comforts her and they kiss.
- Then: Roxanne integrates herself more and more into Kelly and Daniel’s lives.
- Now: Richard and Kelly start casually seeing each other.
- Kelly receives a second note and it includes her wedding ring which she lost in the fire: YOU SHOULD HAVE BURNED TOO.
- Kelly tells Richard she’s getting threatening notes but won’t specify their contents or why she cannot go to the police.
- Now: Kelly sees someone in her backyard in the middle of the night.
- She calls the police, and Harvey investigates but finds no evidence of anyone being there.
- Then: Kelly catches Daniel and Roxanne kissing.
- Now: Someone breaks into Kelly's house and hits Richard in the head.
- Richard has surgery for a brain bleed.
- Then: Kelly takes Daniel back but he quickly starts gaslighting her into thinking she was overreacting to the kiss.
- Now: Richard remains in a coma.
- Someone paints on Kelly’s house: I’LL GET YOU NEXT TIME.
- Kelly calls the police and Harvey agrees to stay until Kelly falls asleep so she feels safe.
- Kelly wakes up to Harvey holding a gun on her.
- Harvey was behind the threatening notes.
- Then: The fire happened on accident when Daniel and Kelly were fighting and a dish towel caught on fire.
- When the fire overtook Daniel, Kelly and Roxanne both stood there and watched him die.
- Now: Harvey drives Kelly to her old, burned house and asks her to admit what happened to Daniel.
- Harvey says he is Daniel’s half-brother and that they had been estranged for fifteen years.
- Harvey is the one who attacked Richard.
- Kelly says she couldn’t have saved him but she feels guilty because she was glad he died.
- The floor beneath then collapses and Harvey’s leg gets pinned.
- Kelly tries to save him but the floor collapses more.
- Kelly wakes up in the hospital and is told Harvey didn’t make it.
- Richard wakes up and is doing well.
- Roxanne had been stalking Daniel and Kelly for months and knew that their marriage was in trouble and that Daniel was rich.
- After Kelly crawled out of the fire, Roxanne killed her, buried her in the woods, and assumed her identity.
I found Rich Little Liars by AJ Carter to be a quick and easy read, which fits with what I expect from this author. The story has a slow start, with very little actually happening in the present timeline. I felt bogged down by Kelly and her constant thoughts of paranoia, which grew highly repetitive as the chapters went on.
Kelly is a tough character to root for because she behaves like such a doormat in both the past and the present scenes. Since the book features a very small cast of characters, her frustrating personality traits are front and center. The saving grace of the plot is the flashbacks, which were very interesting and kept my attention. While the main twist fell flat and was not very interesting, the very end of the book goes a long way to redeem the weaker parts of the story. This book is good for anyone who wants a quick easy read and doesn’t need a twist that will blow your mind.
- Daniel - Dead - House fire
- Joseph Harvey - Dead - Crushed to death in a house collapse
- Kelly - Dead - Killed by Roxanne
- Roxanne - Alive - Living as Kelly, with Daniel's money
- Richard - Alive - In a relationship with Roxanne who he thinks is Kelly
- Fire
- Gaslighting
- Violence
- Stalking
- Death
Publisher: Boldwood Books
ISBN: 9781807343170
Publication Date: June 5, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
